THE recent report of Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey has underscored some challenges of the nation’s malaria elimination programme. At the launch of the survey report in Abuja, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Country Director, Michael Harvey, pointed out that overall outcome of the programme indicated in the report, fell short of expectation.
Harvey said what is striking about the report is the nation’s continued importation of mosquito nets. He is surprised that Nigeria has no local capacity for manufacturing of mosquito nets at affordable prices. He observed that too many medical professionals are still treating malaria without testing. He also said that chloroquine is still available and too readily prescribed as a treatment for malaria in Nigeria despite its ban.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who launched the survey report, admitted that no other disease has affected Nigeria like malaria, given that malaria is responsible for 11 per cent of maternal mortality, 25 per cent of infant mortality and 35 per cent of under-five mortality.
Adewole also explained that malaria is the single most important reason why any Nigerian visits a health facility. He pointed out that 60-70 per cent of consultation and hospital visits are due to malaria, and therefore this is one major problem we must face. The minister said that Nigeria loses about N132 billion to malaria and these are savings that could be ploughed back into our economy. He stressed that malaria is still a major public health challenge.
The 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey report is aimed at measuring progress on malaria elimination implementation efforts with the objective of ensuring that no child or adult dies from the ailment. Adewole said that though there are still gaps in completely eliminating the disease, there have been improvements in the implementation of the malaria programme.
As explained by the Director of Public Health, Mrs. Evelyn Ngige, the survey data collection process involved a total of 375 teams of data collectors and provides important nationally representative data on malaria. She argued that notwithstanding the challenges confronting government on malaria elimination, considerable effort has been made by government and its partners to reverse these grim indices.
The result of the nation’s malaria indicator survey shows that all is not well with Nigeria’s malaria elimination programme. It is commendable that the USAID Country Director, Michael Harvey, and the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, and other stakeholders have identified some shortcomings of the programme.
The Federal Government should go ahead and address these shortcomings. The government should also ensure that mosquito nets are manufactured in the country and sold at affordable prices. We deplore a situation in which we continue to import mosquito nets. The mosquito nets should be made in such a way that they will be suitable to our harsh climatic condition.
Many Nigerians do not use mosquito nets because of the harsh weather. The mosquito net is also seen by many Nigerians as an ineffective tool to check mosquito. Apart from the extant malaria control measures, government should think of biological control as done in some countries. Government can introduce organisms that feed on the female mosquitoes that transmit malaria parasites.
Curbing mosquito breeding places like stagnant waters, clogged drainages and dirty surroundings will also go a long way in keeping the disease at bay. All the three tiers of government must work together to ensure the success of the nation’s malaria elimination programme. All healthcare providers should play their part in this regard.